Dear Seth McClung,
Since you were acquired from the Rays for Grant Balfour you've been a favorite of Brew Crew Ball and the Brewer fanbase in general. The first pitch you threw in Arizona hit 100 miles per hour on the FSN gun-- I remember it quite vividly. Through the Ned Yost playoff push of 2007, you were reliable from the pen. Jim Powell would always talk about the Brewers simplifying your mechanics to improve your control.
In 2008 you were the surprise of the staff. Many people did not think you would make the opening day roster, but some of us knew you would have to be a contributor to the staff at some point. You went on to have a remarkable season, performing out of the bullpen and filling in admirably in the starting rotation when few thought you would succeed. Your strikeout rate rose and walk rate dropped, good indicators for sustained improvement. You capped it off with an incredible performance in relief of Jeff Suppan in the final week of the season against the Cubs-- after coming in in the sixth, you finished off the game, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk and striking out 6 Cubs. In a week that featured 2 Ryan Braun gamewinning homers, 3 Sabathia starts, and a Prince Fielder walkoff homer, and Gallardo's comeback effort, your performance was not overshadowed. It was absolutely amazing. I will also never forget the image of you jumping off of the bullpen wall after Braun's 8th-inning homer of the final game of the regular season. Such a joyous reaction that many of us watching at home could relate to entirely.
And now we're up to the present. It's been an interesting year of course, I don't think we need to do any specific recaps because it is happening right now. But the reason I write is because of your twitter. I don't think I have ever read a more enthusiastic twitter feed. It's a lot of fun to read. It really is so neat to learn the insights from the players themselves, and I say that without sarcasm. A lot of athletes have tried twitter and posted a few generic updates about how the team is doing, but honestly Seth, your feed so far is the most entertaining one I have come across. I just bookmarked it, and I don't even have Haudricourt's bookmarked. Just Adam McCalvy's.
Seth, your dedication to keeping the fans informed is absolutely admirable and I wish more athletes out there were like you. Everything we've heard about you is that you're a great guy and teammate. So with that being said, I'd like to formally apologize for the cheap joke I made about your conventions; first of all I had no knowledge of any factors involved and I really hate to be a grammar stickler anyway. It's simply out of habit based on my college-level English courses. I sincerely didn't mean it. And the way I constructed the joke was pretty stupid anyway, your control has been pretty solid over the past two years.
So to wrap this up, I am sincerely sorry about that and I hope you will not hold it against me. I think it is amazing that today analysts/bloggers can freely interact with the athletes whose performances they analyze. I think it's good for all of us to know that athletes are people just like anybody else-- they do normal activities, and sometimes they make spelling mistakes. I only hope to encourage you and any other professional athlete to continue on the trend towards more transparency and exposure.
Meanwhile, we will keep writing about our favorite team. I have spent hours analyzing the minor league BABIP of Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel's platoon splits and, Seth, your pitch f/x data. I will probably spend many more hours analyzing Brewer information in the future. It's all in fun and it all serves to increase our understanding and appreciation of the game. That's what really matters here.
So thank you, Seth, and good luck to you in your role as a Milwaukee Brewer. Keep up the good work.
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17 comments
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Comments
Seth McClung fun fact #67901
Seth shares the #73 with former Steeler Kendall Simmons, who once had to be put on the IR when he fell asleep with an ice-pack on his leg and suffered frostbite.
Seth McClung never falls asleep with an ice-pack on his leg.
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Sep 20, 2009 10:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
It's kind of weird
We’re so used to just writing (or saying) anything we want about the teams and athletes we’re fans of, since that’s always just been part of what fans do.
And most of the time it’s completely OK, because those athletes aren’t reading our stuff, and if they were, they’d probably be insulated enough by celebrity and expect to hear enough of that kind of stuff that it just bounces right off.
But every once in a while, we have one of these surreal moments when we realize, “Holy crap, some of these guys might actually be reading this — and they actually care what people think of them.”
I’m not trying to call Jordan out here — I’m just thinking out loud about how this is apparently what the online version of meeting one of your favorite team’s players in a “real-world” situation looks like.
I dunno—I guess it makes me think a little longer about my shots on here against guys like Suppan and Kendall. (Well, maybe not that long.)
by Cheeseandcorn on Sep 20, 2009 10:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
it's all about that golden rule:
only say mean personal things about athletes when they mess with your fantasy team.
"I'll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I'll give him a badge and he can be my deputy."
-Sheriff Melvin
by sowingwildoats on Sep 20, 2009 11:29 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Or when you're right.
That's all I've got for you today, unless you're interested in some Chris Capuano/Tom Haudricourt Fan Fiction.
by KLSnow on Sep 21, 2009 6:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
the difference between online and off
Even if you’d say something to someone’s face offline, the chances (if you are an introvert like me) that you end up going …… like some console RPG character are fairly high.
(I met Seth McClung in Minneapolis in May. I did a lot of …… which probably made me seem rude. I’m sorry. He’s very very nice in person. I still wouldn’t have called him on the pitching-indoors bit tho. ^^;;)
by morineko on Sep 21, 2009 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Seth has always seemed to have a great attitude.
So it doesn’t surprise me to see that he seems like a nice guy on twitter.
This season bottomed out for me as a fan when I watched him walking off the field with his face in his glove when he was injured. I root for Seth to succeed like I would any player on the Brewers, but he has a certain charisma that makes me like him a little more than your average guy.
by Zorakathura on Sep 20, 2009 11:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Agreed
McClung is one of the few players that I would still follow should he leave the Brewers. He has a fun personality and that chinstrap action is awesome.
Your values is in disarray, prioritizin' horribly
Unhappy with the riches 'cause you're piss-poor morally
Ignorin' all prior advice and forewarnin'
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden, aren’t we?
by kirbir on Sep 20, 2009 11:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
i too will never forget watching seth pitch some gorgeous innings in that final home stretch last year
and then reading the recap where sveum said he went out there to pull him out and just saw the fire and dedication in his eyes, i was sold on him. he gives a damn.
"I'll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I'll give him a badge and he can be my deputy."
-Sheriff Melvin
by sowingwildoats on Sep 20, 2009 11:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
completely agree
that game against the Cubs where Seth pitched 4 innings was one of my favorite moments of the season, only behind Braun’s homer in the last game.
"my goodness"
by BrewHaHeather on Sep 21, 2009 10:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dear Seth
I know where Jordan lives. You know what to do.
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
by roguejim on Sep 21, 2009 12:49 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
I'm not sure what this is in response to
But I’ll take it as an opportunity to echo that Seth McClung is the coolest. I don’t recall ever seeing too many players as amped as he was at the end of last season, it was awesome.
Ryan Braun: He loves it.
by SRB on Sep 21, 2009 2:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
http://www.brewcrewball.com/2009/9/19/1038022/seth-mcclung-has-twitter-and-is
Comments
E: George 4 (5, throw, throw, throw, throw).
by Jordan M on Sep 21, 2009 7:03 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
so...no link to the twitter feed in the article itself, or am i blind?
by PagsBrewCrew on Sep 21, 2009 6:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Now there is
E: George 4 (5, throw, throw, throw, throw).
by Jordan M on Sep 21, 2009 7:02 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
You have one major league man-crush on #73
Decent guy…decent pitcher…probably contributes to the chemistry in the clubhouse. Worth pulling for…so here’s hoping he cuts down on his walks to become a legit SP, or closer.
by infield fly on Sep 21, 2009 8:46 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

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